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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23430889">There Are Things That Are Missing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianaintheSnow/pseuds/AdrianaintheSnow'>AdrianaintheSnow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Is There Anything Left of Patton? [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>...ish, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, M/M, Past Character Death, Patton is dead(?)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:47:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,477</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23430889</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrianaintheSnow/pseuds/AdrianaintheSnow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Virgil and Logan take a trip to the hardware store during the zombie apocalypse. Something’s missing here…</p>
<p>Virgil cursed. “Ugh, I hate this. I shouldn’t have come. The lost hoodie was an omen.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Morality | Patton Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Is There Anything Left of Patton? [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>181</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>There Are Things That Are Missing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Logan indulged in a moment to himself after he left the room with the cage but before he went upstairs. It never got any easier. None of it did. Not the cage or the lifelessness in Patton’s eyes or Logan’s existence in a world where Patton never laughed or smiled. Patton used to laugh at everything: things Logan said and the silly movies he liked to watch; he often used to send himself into cascades of tinkling giggles over his own senseless jokes.</p>
<p>And now he didn’t.</p>
<p>Logan shook himself and continued his walk back upstairs where Virgil was waiting for him. He gave him one of those pitying looks that Logan appreciated a lot less today than he did most days.</p>
<p>Logan was irritable. He knew he was irritable. Yet that irritability went beyond the fact that they’d been trapped inside for the past few months or that his house had seemed to spring an elusive leak that was rotting out a corner of his living room. No, those were all mundane irritants that Logan could accept as facts of life. What was causing his emotional distress was what was always causing his emotional distress these days.</p>
<p>Logan had been keeping a secret from Virgil. He tried to justify it to himself by reasoning that the only person who could get hurt from it was Logan himself, but he knew that was a falsehood. Logan knew that if he himself came to harm, not only would it affect Virgil emotionally seeing as Logan was literally his only friend in the world, but it would vastly affect Virgil’s ability to survive as he would be left alone. So really, Logan had no excuse for his recklessness.</p>
<p>A few months ago, they had decided that there was really no point to keeping Patton tied up all of the time. It had been nice, almost. He seemed to like his freedom in whatever way he liked things anymore. Of course, Logan had always been careful to restrain him when they both slept. There was no telling what stumbling over a sleeping prey animal would do to Patton’s instincts. So, he had been diligent… until two weeks ago. It had simply been an unintentional error. He’d had a migraine late in the day and had laid down in his room in the dark. At some point, he’d heard Patton wander in but hadn’t paid it much mind. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep but fall asleep he had. Logan had woken in the morning to Patton in bed with him for the first time in close to 2 years.</p>
<p>It had been an accident.</p>
<p>The first time.</p>
<p>His behavior was absolutely stupid and shameful. Logan was well aware of this, but god were the couple of moments of obliviousness in the morning worth the guilt and self-loathing that would come crashing back to him when the world came back into focus.</p>
<p>“Come on,” Logan said without meeting Virgil’s eyes. “Let’s get this over with.”</p>
<p>He and Virgil made their way outside and started towards the Home Depot in town with barely a word between them. One benefit of having Patton upstairs was that both of them were practiced in behavior that was least likely to trigger a zombie’s predatory senses. They were both well versed in silent communication methods and less agitating approaches to movement. The trip was easy, and they only saw three zombies on the way, none of which even noticed them.</p>
<p>They were able to make it through what had once been an employee entrance side door with a surprising lack of effort. Logan could see Virgil growing tense as they transversed the empty building. “This is creepy as hell,” Virgil said, pitching his quiet voice down. Logan had to agree; he didn’t like how their footsteps echoed. Though he had not anticipated the store being full to the brim as it was likely not as occupied by people during the onset of the outbreak as say hospitals, schools, and grocery stores, Logan still expected there to be someone dead here.</p>
<p>“I’m going to check,” he told Virgil.</p>
<p>“Check?” Virgil asked. “What the fuck do you mean ‘check’?”</p>
<p>In answer, Logan hopped up on top of the store’s help desk.</p>
<p>“Oh, fuck, please, no,” Virgil begged even as he scrambled onto the desk next to him and stood with his back to Logan’s. “Can’t we just do this stealthy and run away?”</p>
<p>“It’s better to know what we are dealing with than to be surprised,” Logan reasoned. “Besides, we’re here for timber. Exactly how stealthy do you anticipate that being?”</p>
<p>Virgil cursed. “Ugh, I hate this. I shouldn’t have come. The lost hoodie was an omen.”</p>
<p>“You lose your hoodie weekly,” Logan commented dryly, and then, without giving time for further argument, whistled sharply, similar to how Virgil had drawn Patton to the basement door earlier that day. It echoed loudly through the cement structure.</p>
<p>They both listened in complete silence for anything: movement somewhere, harsh breathing, or moaning. Anything. But nothing came.</p>
<p>“Odd,” Logan mumbled.</p>
<p>“I don’t trust it,” Virgil hissed.</p>
<p>Logan whistled again and they waited, but nothing shambled from the store aisles.</p>
<p>“Oh god,” Virgil said. “I really don’t trust this.”</p>
<p>“Perhaps it was closed during the outbreak and no one was here.”</p>
<p>“Right, because I’m a lucky person.”</p>
<p>“You are still alive,” Logan pointed out. “Luckier than most.”</p>
<p>“Fuck. Thanks. That one helped.”</p>
<p>Logan hopped down from the help desk and Virgil followed after him. “You are rather more anxious without the hoodie,” Logan observed.</p>
<p>“Are you sure it’s not the perfect horror movie set in an empty hardware store post zombie apocalypse?” he asked dryly.</p>
<p>Logan just shook his head. “Come on, let’s go.” Logan could still see Virgil being ever vigilant behind him, turning his head to get a peek down aisles and walking backwards sometimes. Virgil was useful for these types of things. Logan trusted him to notice anything off (including sometimes when there wasn’t anything off, but it was better than the alternative) so Logan was able to focus on the objective.</p>
<p>They made it to a more open location in the middle of the store and they both stopped. “That would explain it,” Logan mumbled.</p>
<p>“Oh fuck,” Virgil said. “it’s a camp. I knew we shouldn’t have gone on this stupid mission without my lucky hoodie.”</p>
<p>Logan studied the little camp. “It doesn’t look like they’re here anymore. They likely buckled down for the winter and moved on now that it’s warmer.”</p>
<p>“But what if they didn’t?” Virgil asked. “What if they’re a bunch of murderers that escaped from a prison and decided since zombies exist that it’s okay for them to be cannibals?”</p>
<p>Logan just gave him a bland look. “Anyway, let’s go get the wood and go home.”</p>
<p>“No, but Logan,” Virgil said following him. “What if they’re like, around?”</p>
<p>“Virgil,” Logan said. “I know that sometimes it may seem that we are the only people alive on the planet, but that is more than likely false. There are going to be living people around sometimes and likely, the majority of them are not murders. You don’t need to freak out.”</p>
<p>“Anyone who survived in this hellscape has to be batshit or a murderer or <em>both.</em>”</p>
<p>“We’re alive.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, and we let your dead boyfriend wander the house, so what’s your point?”</p>
<p>“This is a pointless discussion as they aren’t here. I would be surprised if they are even in the town anymore. Let’s just focus on the objective unless you like living in a home with moldy carpet?”</p>
<p>Virgil shifted nervously on his feet.</p>
<p>Logan rolled his eyes. “Perhaps we should stop by the small clothing section and see if there is anything hoodie like. That way you’ll have two comfort items in case you lose one.”</p>
<p>Virgil shook his head. “It’s a <em>lucky</em> hoodie,” he stressed. “I can’t just replace it.”</p>
<p>Logan scoffed. “If it’s so important, you should keep better track of it.”</p>
<p>“I don’t mean to lose it!” Virgil said hotly.</p>
<p>“Are you certain?” Logan asked. “Because evidence seems to indicate otherwise.”</p>
<p>“Screw your evidence,” Virgil muttered. Logan hid a smile as he continued to walk towards where he knew the supplies he needed should be assuming whoever had made camp here had not moved anything. He was glad the distraction worked to take Virgil’s mind off the “murderer cannibals” in the city. He was still alert at Logan’s back but the lines around his brow had softened a bit.</p>
<p>The stock of timber had been depleted, likely burned for heat. However, Logan was still able to find what he was looking for easily enough. Whoever had been living in the Home Depot had created no problems for them, and Logan predicted they wouldn’t as he and Virgil made their way home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just a fair warning, this series is going on a temporary hiatus as I want to have the next three parts completely written before I post the first one. It will be at least one week, probably two weeks, and maybe three weeks. Until then, enjoy wondering why I need to write all three simultaneously. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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